Car Rental Alicante Airport

We made a quick overview of the Alicante Airport Car Rental available at Alicante airport .

Beside this we also noted down some tips and hints to make sure your car rental goes perfect.

tips car rental

Tips before hiring a car in Alicante Airport or everywhere you hire a car in Spain.

General advice that we give when you rent a car in Spain is : Don’t forget the size of your luggage. Check the fuel. Make it yourself and the staff of the car hire desk easier. Check the conditions of the car.

And at last : Returning the car. Hiring a car is fine when nothing severe happens. But it is a fact that hiring a car can cause you severe problems, more than you think.

We are giving some tips and hints so you can rent a car without having any problems.

These are no horror stories, but facts which have happened to ourselves and friends. If you are aware of these possible problems, you can avoid them later with these tips.

Car Rental

Tip: Insurance.

One of the most used and misleading hire tactic is : that no insurance is included . Some car hire rates on the internet can look very cheap.But once you look at the detail, the car rental doesn’t include a lot of things like insurances, unlimited kilometers . As long as nothing wrong happens, this wont be a problem. So don’t take the risk driving a car which is not enough insured. You are on holiday in another country with perhaps other or different road rules .It’s necessary to take an insurance and this will increase the cost of the car hire immediately and the low-cost car suddenly becomes an not so the low-cost car after all. The Spanish law oblige the car rental companies to take an insurance. But this is only the basic third part insurance.

This “third part insurance” insures the other car and the passengers who are involved in the accident. So it’s better to take an extra insurance, a relax insurance, a SCDW or Super Collision Damage Waiver. Or instead, arrange your own cover-insurance at home, if you want to go several times to Spain. The insurance from home will be much cheaper.

If you don’t take an extra insurance this is your decision. But at least you are aware of the problems . Most of the rental insurance do not include the damage to the windscreen, to the tires, to theft of the car, cost of replacing lost keys …..

Tip: Is a Last minute booking cheaper?

No, because if you book a car at the last-minute there is a shortage of cars and then the prices goes up. Lately the numbers of tourists have increased the last years. The summer season starts from the 15 June and are peaking in July and August. This led to the rental car companies having more cars available over the year. But they still cannot handle the peak summer season So make a booking in advance by using the internet and guarantee the car.

Alpujarra Car Rental

Tip: air-conditioning.

Another tip: when travelling in summer in Spain with temperatures of over 35 degrees. So make sure when you book that the selected car has air-conditioning.

Tip : Do not forget the size of your luggage.

If you rent a car for two persons, don’t forget to think about the size of the luggage that needs to fit in the back of the car. Do not hire a cabriolet if your large travelling case does not fit in the car. The different price between a larger model is very small.

car rental

Tip: Children seats at the Car Rental.

When you got little babies or grand-children you need to hire a children seat. The cost for this is easily 5 euro to 10 euros a day. It is better to take your own car seat than to arrive in the queue and find that they don’t have any children seats left. You can simply use it in the airplane as an extra seat or check it in at the airport with your luggage. Problem solved.

Tip: Young drivers.

Young drivers under the age of 25 are a problem-due to the higher risks-for the Spanish Insurance. So, our solution was to put the car in our name and add the son/ the daughter as an extra driver. The extra driver costs around 5 euro a day. Problem solved !

Tip: Satnav or GPS.

Bring your own GPS/ satnav with you. Otherwise this is a waste of money, because some car rental are asking 100 € for the GPS/ satnav in the car.

Guadalest

Tip: Check the Fuel.

Car rental companies make money if the fuel thank is given empty of full. Most companies give you a car which is full and ask you to return it empty or full. Nearly always they charge you for a tank at a higher rate than the local petrol stations . We gave seen differences up to 50% and more ! For example one car rental ( June 2017) did ask 110 € for the full, at the local petrol station it was 42 €for the full. Or charge you for 60 liters for a tank of 40 liters. So, we fill up the tank near the airport mostly by a commercial center, so that they can’t charge an extra for the fuel. Some rentals pay you back, when you have not used all the fuel.

Tip: Make it yourself and the staff of the Car Rental easier.

Safe time . Make sure that you got the print out of your reservation, your reservation number, your driver’s licence, your credit card . The car rental desks are busy and noisy, often with very long massive queues. Some car rental company’s are now working with a ticket system to avoid the queues.

Tip : Check the conditions of the car.

When you get your rental car, make sure you are getting the right type of car, diesel (is cheaper) or not, extra driver or not. Do not take an inferior car when the car rental desk says that they have no more cars of the asked type car. The staff of the car rentals is trained to sell and they work on commission. Like every “good” seller, they will try to let you pay for extras but stay firm and pay only for the things that you really want.

Tip: Check the car.

This is an important moment. Even when you in a hurry or if you’re feeling tired. It is worth taking the time to careful look at the car for damage and even fuel! A story that happened to us: being charged for a full fuel tank (70 €). But the tank was empty after 50 kilometers. Because you have signed a contract, you are responsible for the damage to the car. Make sure that all the scrapes and bumps are noted in your contract. Otherwise they can try to let pay you for the damage of the previous driver. This also goes for the interior. When you have marked a damage which is not in the contract.

Go get someone of the rental company to note it in the contract, even if you have to go back inwards to the office and it is a long walk. Once you left the car parking and the contract is signed, there is no more dispute possible. We always take digital pictures of the car as extra proof.

Tip: Returning the car.

You don’t have any damage, and filled up the car with fuel then park the car and take once more digital pictures. Take a picture of the fuel panel: the wheels, the car … Give the keys back to the person at the desk in the parking or to the guardian. Most of the rental companies have also a letter box if you return the car at night. Don’t give the keys to any one other in the parking who says his working for the car rental. You wouldn’t be the first whose car is stolen in this sad way. Don’t throw your papers away in the airport, it is not extra luggage because your rental is not over.

Some rental companies send you an email for the pay-back of the fuel. Once at home, check your credit card statement to make sure that they have refund the fuel or that they didn’t charge extra charges . If they claim extra charge for a damage you can send the photos and the copy of the contract. React if they ignore you, take contact with the agent! If the car firm has an office in your country , contact them sometimes it can help.

So which car rental do you need to choose at Alicante Airport Car Rental?

Look on the internet, compare, take well-known brands. Prices depend from season to season, following car companies are trustworthy. All these companies have a dealership at Alicante airport.

Things you should consider :

When renting at the airport and you don’t see a waiting queue, don’t get coffee first because a massive queue can appear in 5 minutes.

Alicante Airport Car Rental Overview

Alicante airport car rental Centauro

Centauro is with Goldcar most of the time the cheapest. There is only one dealership in Alicante and that’s on the Alicante Airport. When checking in using Foursquare you get a free upgrade when available.

Avis Rental Alicante

Avis is well know across Europe and offers a wide choice of cars but is a little more expensive.

Hertz provide car hire from Alicante Airport and supply a wide choice of vehicles for the visitor including hatchback, saloons, people-carriers and luxury vehicles such as Mercedes.

There is also a range of commercial vehicles available including vans of various sizes to cater for people moving into villas in the area.

Goldcar Alicante Airport

As told above most of time Goldcar and Centauro are the cheapest. Goldcar is spread across the Mediterranean. Goldcar will be slightly cheaper than other car rentals. This makes it our favorite company to rent a car from in Alicante. For the rental of the car only. But be aware at the desk , they try to sell you extra Coburta relax ( extra insurance ) or a mega relax cover ( extra- extra insurance ) or Diesel with an extra cost ( 15 € for a week ) or reimbursement of the fuel with an extra operation cost (30 €). Also be aware arriving at 23:00 at night , they charge 40 € extra. Some times they take also a caution for the fuel between 80 and 110 euro.

For instance for 7 days the rent was 7 euro for a Volkwagen Polo. Perfect ! Great deal. Once at the disk at the airport, it became with all the extra’s : 248 euro + 80 € caution for the fuel. It is up to you to agreed or not.

Rental car

Be travel aware from car break-ins

Car Hire customers have given some tips of the consulate about staying safe and secure.

When you arrive at the airport, drive straight to our accommodation and unpack. Thieves often target weighed down cars at the supermarket.

Never leaves valuables in the car. Thieves know where you like to hide things , they are experts.

Be aware of the distraction. Such as having tyres problems or being flagged down. Then the helpful tourist are approached by the thieves.

Be aware of false police officers. All real police officers also those in plain clothes carry official ID.

On the road.

Respect the rules of the Spanish roads. So you can avoid traffic sanctions. The rental company will charge you a extra of nearly 50 € administrations costs for each fine received during your beautiful holiday trip. Even if the fine is only 25 € ( for example not paying your parking). Respect the speed limits. Spain has thousands of radars on the roads . Those who do not respect the seed limits will be fined. It is clear on the road where the radars are.

car rental radar

The bus lane The bus lane is only for use of the buses. Automatic radars and cameras will fine you if you use the bus lane.

City center. Like in other European center of the tow, the traffic is restricted to the residents.” Zona de prioridad residencial “. So, if you see this zone for the residential, do not continue driving in the center of the town. Or you will once again will be fined.

At last

Enjoy your sunny holiday at the Costa Blanca Read more about the Costa Blanca on our page Costa Blanca.